


All for a Book

by Chickadee65



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/stay night - All Media Types
Genre: AU of an AU, F/M, For a Friend, enemies to friends to lovers...kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:55:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24990421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chickadee65/pseuds/Chickadee65
Summary: How could a book be a catalyst for all this? Melody has no idea, but one look at Chiron has her questioning if she should even be complaining. A short story told in three parts of first meetings, awkward meet ups, and confessions of love? All that and, honestly, not that much more await you.
Relationships: Chiron | Archer of Black/Original Female Character(s), Cú Chulainn | Lancer/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	1. Kiss With a Fist

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a one-shot for a friend that developed very slowly into a three part story. This is an AU of an AU and uses characters (Melody, Jillian, and Hannah) from said friend's Fate AU which I love and adore and y'all should go [read it too](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17646026/chapters/41611409)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so, the story begins...

Chiron was absentmindedly walking through the city streets in the late afternoon, enjoying his break between his classes at the local university. As a lecturer in philosophy he greatly enjoyed engaging his students in his class, though there were always the difficult ones that sapped the energy out of him. A young man in his previous class saw fit to try and usurp and disrupt his lecture at every turn, taking every opportunity to try and make a rebuttal against every concept Chiron brought up in class. 

That course of action earned the man a 20 page essay on what is a human’s right to die with emphasis on the work of Jack Kevorkian. If he could spend the entire lecture period of two hours debating with the professor on the evolution of morals, then this should be no problem to be finished in two weeks.

Chiron couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle as he remembered the look on the young man’s face as he issued the assignment to him in front of his peers, who all looked to be ready to tackle the poor guy if he didn’t shut up. Eyes wide and mouth gaping like a fish as his fellow students filed out of the lecture hall with soft snickers. He wasn’t actually going to count the punishment paper as a grade, but the student didn’t need to know that.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts Chiron found himself in a less familiar part of the city, in front of an alleyway with what appeared to be a few shops. Checking his watch he decides that he has a few extra minutes to explore before he needs to walk back to campus for his last class of the day.

Walking down the alley it was easy to see what kind of shops inhabited this space. Small, hole-in-the-wall establishments that catered more to a local audience than big city goers or tourists. Small food stands, magazine shops, antique stores, and vintage boutiques lined the alleyway, illuminating the narrow passage with their neon lights. 

The shops soon died off and the alley turned dark the further he walked into it, so Chiron decided to turn around, making a mental note to revisit this area when he had more time. It seemed to hold hidden treasures that he wanted to devote himself to thoroughly and not just in passing. Despite this resolution running through his mind something at the corner of his eye gave him reason to pause.

“Reader’s Conquest: Emporium of Rare and Out of Print Books” is what the sign read. Chiron stepped closer to the shop door, wondering how it escaped his interest when he was first walking down the alley. Checking his watch again he decided he could spare a few more minutes here and take a less scenic way back to campus. The lure of rare books pulled at Chiron’s interest and gave him a tingling feeling as he pushed the door open, only barely noticing the sign by the handle, “mind the cat (=^w^=)”.

Chiron found himself breathing deeply as he entered the store, the smell of wood and old paper filling his senses and bringing with it a sense of calm. He quietly acknowledged the shopkeeper, a woman who seemed oddly young and...punkish to be running a shop like this. As he walked aimlessly up and down the aisles he mentally noted that this shop was much larger on the inside than what it appeared like on the outside. Finally deciding on what he was looking for he set about reading the signs on the end of the aisles to bring him to his destination. 

Being of Greek descent but only living there for such a short period of his childhood made Chiron curious about his cultural heritage. His teenage years saw him spending much of his free time with his nose buried in books on Greek history, food, culture, mythos, and any other relevant topics he could get his hands on. He could still remember the elation he felt when he discovered that he was named after the centaur who was a mentor to heroes like Achilles and Heracles. His parents to this day tease him about how this revelation led him towards the path of teaching.

Looking through the stacks and shelves Chiron finally found what he was looking for; a section dedicated to all things Greek. Eyeing the shelves Chiron found himself humming approvingly at the size of the store’s collection, noting but otherwise ignoring the sudden slam of the shop door. His eyes panned over the spines and faces of the books, waiting for something to jump out at him, something that said “Me! Pick me!” Eventually his gaze settled on a canvas bound book, deep blue in color with the cover reading as “Ancient Greek Music, M.L. West”.

Satisfied with this choice Chiron reached out a hand to pull the book from the shelf, eager to skim over the contents and see if it was worth the buy. Just as he was about to make contact with the book a smaller, pale hand entered his vision. The person’s hand bumped into his with more force than he was expecting, seemingly trying to knock him away from his prize. 

Fighting back the majority of his irritation at the rude maneuver, he turned sharply towards the offender, a glare in his eyes and a “pardon me?” on his tongue. He only managed to get a loose grasp of the book on one side before he saw who it was that interrupted his bookish endeavor. The words he wanted to say died in his throat when he saw the person standing before him.

She was a young woman, curly dark brown hair tied up in a ponytail with bangs falling nearly into her eyes. She was short in stature with a round face to match, giving her a youthful appearance, though the aura she was emitting right now was anything but childish. Her eyes held a barely contained rage and the bags underneath them inferred that this was someone under much stress.

Still, Chiron found himself slightly awestruck at the sudden appearance of this woman, coming out of the blue to steal this book away from him. Maybe he could talk his way out of this. He was always told by his friends that he had a way with words, even if he himself didn’t always realize it. Maybe he could even gain a new acquaintance out of it since it seemed the two of them had similar interests. He certainly wouldn’t mind having someone else to talk to about Grecian culture with. He was just opening his mouth to give a belated greeting when something flew into his field of vision.

Then his vision went white and pain blossomed out from his jaw.

* * *

One word that could be used to describe Melody in the moment could be furious. Tired, irate, exhausted, bitter, and annoyed were also words that could be used to describe the young woman currently power-walking her way through the city’s many walkways and alleys. She had a specific destination in mind, but was still fuming at the lengths she had to go through to get to where she was now. What could have possibly been so important and frustrating that had this normally chill and sweet person looking like one stray glare would turn a random passerby into stone?

A book.

She was looking for a book.

It wasn’t even a book that she wanted to read for her own pleasure, though under different circumstances this could have been the case. No, she needed this book for one of her graduate classes. A book that was required and that was proving very difficult to get a hold of.

“Join the Ancient Music and Performance class my friend said. It’ll be  _ fun _ they said. Fun my ass,” Melody grumbled under her breath, not caring if anybody she passed on the sidewalk heard her. 

The semester had started a few weeks ago and everything had been going fine. Reading over the syllabus made Melody excited for what the semester will bring. This excitement died when the professor of the class suddenly dropped the bombshell on the class. She had  _ apparently _ randomly stumbled upon this book in her collection and thought that it would be a great resource for the class’ subject. And it wasn’t even going to be a recommended book for class, oh no. She made this book mandatory and Melody could swear she saw a glint in that woman's eyes as the class groaned out their frustrations. Apparently this was such a last minute decision that the professor didn’t even bother to check how accessible the book was.

It wasn’t readily available. It was out of print.

It wasn’t even in the realm of being affordable because it was out of print.

Melody was so unbelievably pissed at the short-sightedness of the professor. Several of the students brought up these facts with her but she just responded with “well just pool your money together and share,” the unhelpful bitch that she was— 

“Hey! Watch it!”

Melody didn’t even spare whoever she bumped into a glance as she darted into the alley that she was looking for. She needed to find this store, it was her only hope. Nobody in class was willing to spend  _ that _ much money on a book, even when pooling together with the others. It very quickly became apparent that this book situation became an every man for themselves endeavor. Amazoness wasn’t a big help and neither were the other online bookstores. There was  _ one _ book in the university library, but it had already been checked out by one of her classmates who very loudly bragged that he had it and would just renew the book instead of returning it and giving someone else a chance. Bastard didn’t even offer to share it with anyone. 

What was it about this book that turned everyone into selfish and desperate goblins?

She had only heard through the academic grape vine about a bookstore specializing in rare and out of print books and after a desperate phone call the store became Melody’s last hope of finding this book at a barley reasonable price. The store had the book, at an unbelievable price when compared to the online marketplace, and they only had  _ one copy. _

Melody  _ needed  _ that book.

Unfortunately, the store had a policy about holding books. In that they didn’t hold books. Fuck. It was a first come first serve type of establishment and no amount of pleading over the phone with the shop attendant would change that. So Melody left her apartment in a rush to try and get to the shop before anybody else caught wind of this information. 

And that’s how Melody found herself here, glaring holes into the door as she checked and double checked the shop sign to make sure she was in the right place. She was. Fuck yes.

She practically threw open the door and stormed inside, door slamming behind her and stomping up to the desk and ready to full on demand for the book when she paused. This… definitely couldn’t be the person that she talked on the phone with earlier today. The lady behind the desk had a mohawk and stretched ears and when she spoke she clearly did  _ not _ have the voice of an elderly woman like the one she heard over the phone.   
  


“... Can I help you, miss?”

“Uh, I’m here for a book?”

“Well, take a gander. We got plenty of them,” the lady responded, trying and failing to cover her annoyance at Melody’s sudden barging into her space. Melody squared her shoulders and took a calming breath, trying to come down from the small shock at not being met with who she thought ran the shop.

“I’m actually looking for a  _ specific  _ book. I called earlier to ask about it and I was told that you had it.”

“Well, what was it? I wasn’t told about any phone call or about someone coming in to pick anything up—” 

Melody placed her hands firmly on the desk counter and answered with a heated tone.

“Ancient Greek Music by M. L. West! I need this book for a class and I need it now, so please point me in the right direction so that I can buy it and get out of here.” Melody was internally cringing at her behavior, not at all a fan of how she was treating the shop attendant. But time was running out and she had the sickening feeling that if she didn’t act soon it would be too late.

“Okay… calm down. If we do still have the book it’ll be in our Greek section—”   
  


_ Yeah, duh. _

“-which is on this back wall about 4 sections down. Good luck finding it.” the woman said, watching as Melody turned away and started walking before she had even finished what she was saying. The cat sitting by her feet gave a short ‘meow’ and she shushed him.

“Poor thing looks like she’s in a hurry. Oh the sad life of a student.”

Melody felt like she was getting tunnel vision, her eyes focusing on the passing shelves lining the back of the store and not paying attention to what was directly in front of her. Her eyes were scanning for a book, blue in color with a white illustration on the front and white font on the spine. It didn’t help that the books were haphazardly organized with some books facing out towards the shop and others placed so that only the spine could be seen. Melody was approaching what appeared to be the Greek section and her eyes narrowed in on her prize.

There it was.  _ The fucking book. _ It was on one of the upper shelves, front facing out and clearly showing the title and illustration that had haunted her dreams since she saw the outrageous price tag online. She could have jumped and hollered at the sight, but instead just settled for going to grab the book quickly and get out.

As she was reaching for the book something else caught her eye. It was… a hand? A hand that was reaching for her goddamn  _ book _ . In her book-searching induced tunnel vision she somehow missed a whole person standing in front of her in the aisle. This wouldn’t deter her, no way. This was her fucking book for her fucking class that she was now fucking regretting taking  _ but she will take it ‘cause mama didn’t raise no quitter. _

Melody slightly changed the trajectory of her outreached hand to bat away the other hand threatening to take what was hers. She grabbed one side of the book just as the other, tanned hand grabbed at the other. Following the hand to the wrist, to the arm, and to the body it was attached to Melody sized up who she was gonna have to fight for this god forsaken book. 

...Oh no.

_ He’s hot _ .

Long, tawny brown hair framed a gentle but masculine face. Eyes the color of a deep sea foam green were silently observing her, flashing between irritation and curiosity. She could even tell that beneath the clothes he was wearing, a casual suit of all things, that he was clearly fit, like really fit, and nope the blush can fuck right off from her cheeks she’s here on a  _ mission!  _ A mission she intends to complete, no matter how pretty the dude is standing in front of her is. He’s still trying to get that book. That book that she oh so desperately needs.

It didn’t matter how aesthetically attractive Melody thought this man was.

_ She was getting this fucking book. _

She watched as the man opened his mouth, probably to tell her to let go of the book. Melody knew that she needed to act fast and needed to communicate somehow that she needed this book more than he did, but her body was on a different stream of consciousness than her mind was. She  _ wanted _ to tell the guy that she needed this book for a class and that it was hard to come by. She also wanted to do something to get the dude away from the book. 

The second feeling is what her body went with. 

Welp.

Melody could only watch in horror as her body refused to listen to the screams of her exhausted mind, her right arm pulling back and her hand letting go of the book to curl into a fist. The man hadn’t even realized what was happening and she couldn’t make her mouth work to warn him. She had exhausted herself too much, her mind couldn’t communicate properly with her limbs and before she knew it she had thrown possibly the meanest right hook of her life.

Melody inwardly cringed as her fist came in contact with the stranger’s jaw, kind of impressed at herself for even being able to reach her target given their stark contrast in height to each other. 

Pain radiated from Melody’s fist as she watched the man fall onto the ground, probably more from the shock of being punched than the force of it alone. Her eyes glanced to where the book was, still on the shelf having been released by the man in the shock of being hit. She quickly snatched the book off of the shelf and held it tightly to her chest, breathing heavily as panic started to set in as she realized exactly what she had just done. 

_ Okay Mels, you just punched a man over a book. What now? _

Looking at the stranger still on the ground who was rubbing his injured jaw with the hand that was holding onto the book only moments earlier, Melody made up her mind. She was just going to roll with it. She was really too tired to do anything else.

“Sorry, but I need this,” was all she said to the man before she turned on her heel and marched back to the shop’s checkout desk. The lady sitting behind the desk eyed Melody warily, clearly having seen or at least heard what had happened. Melody grimaced but was otherwise nonplussed at this unfortunate first impression that she was giving these strangers.

“I found what I was looking for.”

“...I see that.”

The lady gingerly took the book from Melody’s outstretched hands and scanned it before placing it in a bag. She only mumbled the final price of the book when a card was sharpley slapped onto the counter, not wanting to deal with whatever level of crazy that her customer was operating on. Payment processed, receipt printed and put in the bag and the hand off was made. Melody barely heard the shopkeeper’s ‘farewell’ as she stormed out of the door, and definitely missed the ‘crazy bitch’ that was spoken in a hushed tone. Melody absolutely did not hear the agreeing mewl from the shop cat, either. 

None of what happened in that store matters. The only thing that mattered right now is that Melody had what she needed. She could finally stop worrying about  _ finding _ the book for this stupid class and start doing the reading for this  _ stupid  _ class. 

Walking back to her apartment, Melody had a noticeably lighter pep in her step as she could check one thing off of her never ending list of things to do. Her mind briefly went back towards the man she had decked over a book, but quickly purged him from her mind. She was sure she would never see him again, and if she did she was sure that she would perish out of embarrassment. It would be for the best to leave him alone and not to seek him out for a proper apology.

Maybe treating him to some coffee or tea, maybe promising him the book after she was done with her class, maybe reading it with him as they hung out more and got to know each other…

Nope!

Nope nope nope! Not gonna happen. She  _ punched _ him for fuck’s sake! Melody let out an incredulous laugh as she entered her apartment, amazed that her mind could so quickly charge into the land of impossibilities. She was just so tired. That was the only reason why she was having these completely improbable and inappropriate thoughts. Yep. That must be it. No other reason. Not at all.

Repeating this mantra in her head, Melody settled in for the evening, pulling up papers that needed to be worked on and checking on the reading that she needed to do for her newly acquired book.

* * *

Back at the shop, Chiron was now just sitting cross-legged on the floor of the shop as he thought back on what just happened. He was punched. By a very small and very cute woman. Over a book. That she apparently  _ really _ needed. 

Okay then. Arguably not  _ the _ strangest thing to have ever happened to him. It was definitely up there on the list, though.

Chiron barely registered that the lady at the front was calling for him and lifted his head to look at her.   
  


“You doing okay, buddy?” 

“...I think so?”

“Alrighty then. You seem to be fine with hanging out on the floor, but I need to close up soon. Sooooooo…”

Chiron nodded and got up from the floor and dusted himself off. His jaw still ached something fierce and he couldn’t help but admire the force that the strange woman had behind her fist. Even if he felt it was a touch extreme for a book. Not wanting to leave empty handed after being involved in such a scene, Chiron grabbed blindly at a book and made his way to the front desk to pay. 

He didn’t even look at what he had grabbed as he paid for the book, bid farewell to the woman behind the desk, who looked much more tired than when he had first entered the shop, and stepped out into the alley. Glancing at his watch he cursed as he had spent much more time in there than he had intended, thanks in part to being knocked on his ass by a stranger.

He broke out into a light sprint as he headed back to the campus, determined to make it to his next class before his students tried to get out of it with the ‘if the teacher isn’t here within fifteen minutes of class starting we get to leave’ mentality. As he ran his thoughts ran away with the stranger from earlier who left him with a smarting jawline. Hm, it was probably going to be difficult to get through his lecture today.

There was something alluring about her, about her eyes that held a fire within them despite the lines on her face speaking of nothing but exhaustion. The force in which she hit him spoke not to her skills as a fighter, but to her fierceness and determination. The way in which she non-apologized to him and left him on the ground without another word… 

Okay his mind was getting away from him. He was clearly just projecting his own thoughts and feelings onto this complete stranger. This complete, attractive stranger, who sent Chiron on his ass with a single punch and… And maybe he’d like to meet her again.

His steps slowed as he approached the familiar buildings of the school, though he was still walking at a fast pace to make it to his lecture on time. Maybe he’d like to meet her again… under different circumstances. She’d already made such an impression on him, mentally and physically. He just didn’t know how to make it happen.

It probably wouldn’t happen. She was a stranger and this was a pretty large city, what were the chances that they would ever see each other again? Sighing to himself Chiron decided that it would probably be best to forget about the ready-to-fight stranger and instead mentally prepared for his last lecture for the day. With any luck he can get the students to do most of the talking and his jaw seemed to throb in response to this thought.

Well, at least he’d have a hell of a story to tell the other faculty members when some of them got together for lunch the next day.

* * *

Melody was rushing to the faculty lounge, lunchbox in tow, and was excited for the upcoming hour. 

She was invited by her favorite professor who she TA’d for to come and spend lunch with them and some of the other professors. This would be exciting since she would get a chance to interact with other academics who specialized in different topics and they could all converse together about different styles of teaching and philosophies and maybe even try to connect some dots between music and seemingly unrelated topics and… 

Approaching the door to the faculty lounge Melody gave herself a onceover to make sure that everything was in place and there wasn’t some horrid stain on her shirt. There wasn’t. She looked great. She was going to make a good first impression on the other professors and there was nothing to worry about she was going to be fine she would get along with everybody and oh look at that she’s opening the door and getting ready to say hello and… 

Oh.

Huh. 

Hm. 

Her professor was there, probably telling her hello and welcome and to please find a seat, but Melody didn’t hear any of that. She was just staring.

Staring.

Staring  _ at the man whom she fucking decked yesterday and oh my god is his jaw turning purple?  _ It seemed that the man had a similar reaction to seeing Melody again seeing as he paused in his action of bringing his sandwich up to his mouth and instead was staring at her with his mouth agape. 

“I’m so glad that you made it, Melody. Here, let me introduce you. This is Martha and she teaches engineering. Todd over in the corner there teaches art conservation. And this gentleman here is Chiron. He’s possibly our best philosophy professor, but don’t tell Shelby I said that. Please take a seat wherever and tell me about your day so far!”

Chiron. The guy’s name was Chiron. And he was a professor at the school she was going to. And she punched him in the face yesterday. Chiron finally seemed to snap out of whatever spell he was under and choked out a hello, clearly just as shocked to see Melody as she was to see him.

Well.

Shit.


	2. Shake it Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meetup

Melody wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow her. She didn’t want the tea sitting in front of her on the table. She didn’t want the sandwich that sat on its plate with only a single bite taken out of it. She definitely didn’t want the oatmeal raisin cookie sitting on a napkin and looking like it was mocking her. Don’t get her wrong, she enjoyed oatmeal raisin cookies, she just didn’t like how it was bought for her like some sort of peace offering. No, she didn’t want any of these things. She just wanted to disappear. 

That, or she wanted the man sitting across from her to stand up and walk away from this whole situation and pretend that they never met.

It had been about two weeks since she had to come face to face with the consequences of her actions in the bookstore. From the punch that earned her a book that she then banished to the furthest reaches of her shelves, to the fateful lunch with her professor that brought her face to face with the victim of said punch. Melody had to wonder what kind of cosmic being wanted to punish her like this. 

Chiron sat across from her in this quaint little cafe only a few blocks from the university with a black coffee in hand and a small smile on his face. The bruise on his jaw had faded by now, though Melody swore that if she looked close enough that she could still see some discoloration.

...Not that she was looking closely at the professor often. That would be strange and silly.

This little meeting of theirs had been Professor Chiron’s idea since their awkward lunch meeting a while back hadn’t resulted in actual proper communication between the puncher and punchee. Did Melody want to clear the air and apologize to the man she had decked over a book? Absolutely. Her guilty conscience had been eating at her ever since she was forced to associate a name to the handsome face. But she would rather do it in a more sterile setting, like in an office or even in just a hallway. She would have explained her actions and apologized for them and walked away from the situation. That would have been easy.

This...this was not easy. 

This was awkward and terrible and why did he want to treat her to lunch as a means to talk over what happened why couldn’t he just be normal and ask for an apology and leave it be? Melody’s thoughts were racing so much that she didn’t hear Chiron calling her name after not getting an answer to a question he just asked. She finally managed to snap out of her frantic thought process when she heard him forcefully clearing his throat to try and grab her attention. 

“Sorry, I missed that. What did you say?” Melody inquired, her voice not betraying the embarrassment she felt at being caught unawares.

“I was asking how you’ve been since we last met.” he responded, clearly having caught her lost in thought if the mirth swimming in his eyes was any indication. 

“I’ve been...fine. Just a lot of work as usual, papers to write and essays to grade and all that, you know?” Melody took a long sip of her tea, finding it to be at the perfect temperature, which meant that it would be too cold in about two minutes. Better drink it fast. Looking back at the professor it looked like he was thinking of a response with a hand on his chin and his eyes closed. Melody took this opportunity to take in the man’s appearance yet again and found herself being drawn to his features. She squinted her eyes, trying to find  _ something _ about him that was off. 

…

…

...There was nothing.

From the way he wore his hair to the soft but still masculine features of his face, the almost dainty position of his hands and the smart-looking clothing he was wearing, Melody couldn’t find a single outstanding thing about him that she didn’t like. She very quickly averted her gaze to her cup when the professor opened his eyes, apparently ready to give an answer to her rhetorical question.

“I think I do know what you mean. Though not so much with the writing of papers, going through my student’s work can be a bit draining on the soul,” he said in a kind voice. “As a teacher, I strive to do my best to give my students the tools they need to learn and strive in class. I want them to understand the concepts and topics of discussion I bring up and for them to engage in a thoughtful way. And for the most part I think I’m doing okay, but…” Professor Chiron rested his head on his hands and gave a humorless chuckle. “Sometimes, reading those papers, I wonder if I’m really doing such a good job.”

Melody paused at this, finding that she didn’t enjoy the lost expression on Chiron’s face. Of course, it was every teacher’s wish that their students take what they learn and grow from it, but she’s had experience from reading other’s papers to know that sometimes that knowledge isn’t imparted in a good way. Setting down her cup of tea and staring into the amber liquid, Melody searched her thoughts for something to say, finding herself wanting to reassure the man in front of her.

“...I mean, sometimes there’s only so much that you can do. And for the most part it’s not your fault for a student’s shortcomings. Sometimes, it’s where a student comes from education wise that doesn’t fully prepare them for what college has to throw at them. I can’t tell you how many papers I’ve read that didn’t even have a developed thesis statement...” She looked up at Chiron and gulped when she saw that she had his full attention, his face passive as he took in her words, though his eyes held an intensity that caught her off guard. She looked to the side, suddenly finding a crack in the tile to be the most interesting thing she’s ever seen.

“But you know your class topic does seem a bit deep and maybe a little hard to understand, but the students should have known that going into it, right? I mean it’s not like you’re teaching Gen Ed English, this is some deep shit that you’re going into and maybe it goes over a few heads-” fuck she was rambling how does she stop why did she have to try and make a funny out of it she should have just left it alone fuck fuck fuck!

A light snort across from her snapped Melody out of her spiraling thoughts. Her eyes snapped to Chiron, now softly laughing into his hand. Was this good? Was he laughing at what she said? Or was he laughing at her? Or- 

“You do bring up a valid point,” Okay, what?

“It’s a vice of mine, but I sometimes get  _ too _ deep in my own discussion topic. I usually don’t realize until I come out of it and see the glazed look in my student’s eyes,” he chuckled at his own admission and Melody could feel the tension ease out of her form. 

“Thankfully, my TA has a way of simplifying what I speak on. I don’t really know where I would be without Achilles,” and at the name drop Melody couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh of her own. This caught Chiron’s attention and very quickly clued in on what she found so funny and let out a snort. “Yes yes, how very appropriate that two people would not only be friends, but hold the same position as teacher and student  _ and _ the same names as those Greek legends of old.” Chiron took a sip of his coffee and shot a wink at Melody. “It’s something that still hasn’t ceased to amuse me no matter how many times it’s brought up.” 

Melody felt her heart stutter when Chiron winked at her and she could feel her cheeks heating up and tried to chalk it up to just being flustered from her bumbling words from earlier. It certainly wasn’t because of how she found him to be attractive and surprisingly easy to talk to. She picked up her sandwich and took a small bite, trying to find something else to occupy her mind. Her racing thoughts were interrupted by their server coming over to the table to check up on them.

“Are you two still doing okay? Is everything to your liking?” their server asked. Melody was momentarily taken aback by the shock of blue hair and red eyes. Of course he  _ had  _ to come over when Melody had food in her mouth, but Chiron spoke up in her stead.

“We’re still doing fine. Just enjoying a nice conversation.” He answered as the door to the cafe opened and another customer walked in, the jingling bell catching the server’s attention.

“Well, if you need anything just call me over!” He turned to address the person who just walked in. “Hello! I’ll be with you in just a— Jillian!” The server brightened up and quickly pranced over to the customer, leaving Melody and Chiron alone. Melody barely glanced over and got a faint sense of recognition from the lady who just walked in, but shrugged it off as she finally finished chewing her food and swallowed. 

And then promptly choked. 

Melody miserably hacked and wheezed until she dislodged the offending piece of food and forced it down with some of her now lukewarm tea. Once she got over her small struggle she glanced up at Chiron to see his reaction, wondering if he would be laughing, but his eyes were looking off in the distance. Following his gaze her eyes landed on their server and the new customer at a far table, speaking to each other in hushed tones while glancing over at them every so often. Whatever they were talking about ended with a harsh laugh from the both of them before the server walked away to tend to the other customers. The lady left at the table sniggered for a bit before meeting Melody’s eyes and shooting her a teasing look.

Melody scoffed and looked away, annoyed that a complete stranger would have fun mocking somebody choking on their food. She opened her mouth to speak of her displeasure but Chiron spoke over her.

“She’s from the bookstore,” he said in a harsh whisper, leaning in towards the table like he was telling Melody a secret. Shocked, Melody very obviously whipped her head around to look at the woman again and...oh shit.  _ It totally was the lady from the bookstore! _ She had a smug look on her face and even had the audacity to punch her open palm before flashing Melody the peace sign. Now flushing with fury and embarrassment she turned back to Chiron only to find him blushing as well, holding one hand up to his face as if to hide. Clearly, he witnessed the whole exchange and felt some level of embarrassment because of it. 

Of course, this only served as a reminder for what the two of them were doing here in the first place. This wasn’t a casual hangout moment between two friends or even acquaintances. Melody had  _ punched him over a book. _ This was supposed to be an apology lunch and then they would go their separate ways. 

It just seemed that they were having a good time while discussing papers and the woes of student writing, but that wasn’t what they were here for. The silence that settled over them was heavy and stifling and Melody was back to wishing that they could just get this over with and put the whole event behind them.

“I’m sorry about pun—”

“What was the book fo—”

An awkward silence surrounded them as they waited for the other to finish speaking, feeling that if one was to start then so would the other. Chiron was the one to speak up first, his tone light to make up for the heavy silence from moments ago. “What was the book even for? I was just browsing, but you were obviously looking for it,” Chiron paused to take a bite out of his croissant, giving Melody time to think of an answer. “Plus, you got me really good in the jaw for it, too.”

The huff of laughter he let out did little to calm Melody’s nerves as she prepared to explain her case, the warmth and ease of her tone from earlier all but gone.

“It was just a book that I needed for class. Of course, it was a last minute decision on the professor’s part and didn’t take into account how rare the book was or how expensive it was to buy,” she paused for a moment before continuing. “It just added up to a really bad day. The one copy in the library was checked out and none of the other students were willing to pitch in for a book to share. It was everybody for themselves and the whole situation just got on my nerves. So by the time I found it in the store, I was desperate.”

Melody hadn’t realized that her voice had begun to shake as she told her story, shame bubbling up in the back of her throat and threatening to choke her.

Chiron watched her struggle through her tale with soft eyes, feeling deep sympathy for the young woman in front of him who obviously felt no joy over the actions that she took that day to gain something so seemingly small. His jaw seemed to ache in retaliation, but he ignored it, physical pain and indignation pushed aside in favor of open ears and compassion. 

“And it’s not like we’re even using the book that much now anyways! I think we’ve discussed it in class maybe  _ once _ before the professor relegated it to  _ extra credit readings _ ,” those last words were hissed out, the embarrassment from before now replaced with a seething anger. 

The book wasn’t even worth it in the end! She didn’t  _ need _ any extra credit, she didn’t  _ need _ to read that book, she didn’t have to  _ punch  _ Chiron for the damn thing because it ended up being a worthless investment anyways! 

As caught up in her anger that she was, Melody didn’t see how Chiron was reaching out to her until he placed a steady hand over hers, clenched together and shaking. Normally for Melody this action would be very much  _ not _ welcomed, but the firmness of his grip and how it wasn’t making any further moves helped Melody to ground herself back into the present. She took in a deep breath to calm her anger and took a chance and looked at Chiron. 

The look on his face was open, calm, inviting. Nothing about it said that he was angry over her actions from before, nor did he show any signs of irritation over Melody going on a bit of a tangent. A few more moments passed in silence, Chiron tightening his hold on her hands every now and then, when Melody finally unclasped her own hands before taking hold of Chiron’s. 

It felt good to get that off of her chest. It felt good to have someone here to ground her through her anger. It might seem weird how utterly calm she felt now, having expressed all of this to someone who is in all rights was almost a complete stranger. Stranger still how she doesn’t feel affronted by his actions, how he held her hands, how he looked at her without judgement. There was a way that he held himself as not just an individual but as a mentor that made her feel like it was all going to be okay, despite her initial misgivings. 

The silence lasted for a few moments more before Chiron took the opportunity to speak up. 

“It’s unfortunate how something like hindsight can make us ashamed of our own actions, when in the moment the actions we take seem perfectly justifiable. The aftershocks of shame can shake a person to their very core and leave them incapable of thinking of anything else other than ‘how could I have done this differently?’ But I want you to know that even though you may hold negative feelings towards your past self for your actions, that I hold no ill-will towards you. Not for what happened in the bookshop and certainly not for the conversation we’re having right now.”

He spoke to her like he was comforting a friend and it made Melody want to fall apart. 

She had felt so  _ bad _ about what she had done. It was a feeling that she had sat on for two weeks, just eating away at the back of her mind and plaguing her thoughts when they weren’t filled with grading and thesis’ and homework and research. 

She had gotten it off of her chest, she told Chiron why she did the things she did, and he accepted it without question.

“...I still want to say I’m sorry.” Melody mumbled.

“Well, I certainly hope you do. Assault is a very serious crime,” Melody froze at this, not at all picking up the jovial tone of Chiron’s voice. “And I won’t accept your apology unless you tell me something.” Snapping her head up, Melody looked Chiron right in the eyes, ready to spill any and all kinds of beans so that he — wait is he smiling?

“I want to know where you learned to punch like that,” and with that the mood was lifted once again. Melody stuttered for a bit before bursting out into laughter. She tried to bring her hands up to her face but was met with resistance, not realizing that she was still holding Chiron’s hand. She let go and her laughter only intensified and Chiron was soon to join her, the sounds of their laughter filling the air of the cafe.

Eventually, they settled down and Melody began to tell Chiron the story of how she had taken some self-defense classes when she first moved to the city. Chiron joined in with a few tales of his own, seeming to prefer the times when he sparred with Achilles, though he held no preference over which of the two of them were the victor. Eventually their conversation moved onto other things, back to conversations about school, moving on to hobbies and interests, did they have any pets, and what kind of music they were listening to these days and so on. 

The time passed by before either of them had realized it, tea and coffee all but forgotten and cold. The sun that was high in the sky had started to cast long shadows on the street outside. The spell was only broken when Chiron went to go take a sip of his coffee, only for him to sputter and choke at the coldness and bitter taste of it. Melody snorted, enjoying the small blush that bloomed on Chiron’s cheeks at his aborted sip. Their server came over once again, deciding that this little break in the conversation was an opportune time.

“You guys still doing okay? Would you two like another drink, or will that be all for today?” The server looked back and forth between the two of them, pondering what was going on and already getting an idea of what was happening between them. 

“Ah, no. I believe I’m done,” Chiron said, pushing his cold coffee away from him. Melody followed suit, realizing how late it was getting and now thinking about the work she needed to get done once she got home. Seeing that the two of them were preparing to leave, the server gathered up their cups and plates, gave them the usual ‘thank you for dining with us’ speal and a small nod before walking away, leaving the two of them alone. 

After they had gathered their things, Melody and Chiron stood just outside of the entrance to the cafe and didn’t say anything, knowing that it was time to leave but not really wanting to drop their conversations all together. Melody kicked her feet, scattering some loose debris, trying to think of something to say.

“So, uh, the book…” Melody trailed off. Chiron let out a small hum to acknowledge that he heard her, but added nothing more.

“Uhhhhh, did you want it? I know you said you were just browsing and not specifically looking for  _ that _ book, but I did kind of take it from you by force.” Melody gave a shrug at her statement, not at all impressed with herself for her meager attempt to continue talking to the professor. 

Chiron only thought for a moment before giving Melody a smile. “I  _ was _ interested in the book just from the title alone, though now I suppose I would have other memories attached to it,” Both of them let out a soft laugh at this, now fully comfortable with making jokes about it. 

“If you’d like, we could meet back up here again on a day we’re both free so that you can hand it off?” Chiron offered. His eyes were flitting about the surroundings as he idly scratched the back of his head, trying his best to fight off the blush threatening to rise to his cheeks.  _ Was that a bit forward? I don’t want her to take it the wrong way. _ But Melody just met his sudden nervousness with a smile.

“That’s a good idea. I  _ should _ be free around eleven in the morning next Tuesday, but I also have a lot of projects on my plate. We might just have to play it by ear. Would that be okay?”

Chiron was a little taken aback by the confidence in which she answered him, still a little bit nervous himself. But he mentally shook himself and nodded. “That works out for me just fine. I only have an evening class that day, so as long as we’re out of here before then that should work out just fine. And if worse comes to worse, we can ‘play it by ear’.”

Another silence came over them, but it was more comforting this time. It was wildly different from the silence at the beginning of the day when Melody wanted nothing more than to quickly apologize and then move on like nothing ever happened. Something did happen, and it wasn’t a great thing, downright embarrassing in fact. But a thing that nonetheless led her here, having a conversation with the man that she fucking decked to get a book and ended up having a good time talking with. He was kind and compassionate, intelligent and humble. It’s clear by the way he carries himself and the way he speaks that he was meant to be a teacher in some capacity, and that was something that Melody respected immensely.

And maybe she felt just a little more than respect for Chiron. Just a teensy bit more. Maybe just a bit of a puppy crush. Just the tiniest bit of infatuation. But Melody could live with that. Through a series of unforeseen events she had found someone who engaged her in intelligent conversations and didn’t talk down to her like she would never understand the depth of his field. He actively participated in her talks of her studies in music, asking thought provoking questions that heightened the depth of her knowledge rather than leaving her high and dry. Through just this one meeting, Melody felt that she had made a connection with someone who was on her level and that she was on his. 

And she wouldn’t mind continuing to meet with him, to have more discussions, to share more of her research and to learn more about his philosophies, and maybe even to dig a bit at some of the more abysmally written papers, without giving names of course. 

They parted from there, giving each other small waves as they went their separate ways, already looking forward to the next time that they would meet. And maybe next time there would be something other than a book to be a reason for the two of them to meet again.

* * *

**_Extra Scene feat. Jillian and Cú_ **

In her apartment, Jillian was preparing dinner for herself and Cú for whenever he got off of work. His boss liked to keep him for longer hours than he was scheduled for since he was a favorite server among customers. It didn’t help that Cú and his boss were… enemies? Friends? Frenemies? Whatever, Cú saw nearly everything as a challenge, including working overtime at the cafe when his boss asked him to. So he did. A lot.

At least he got a lot of tips out of it. 

Cú usually got home at around eight nowadays, but Jillian was eager for him to come back because she  _ needed _ to talk more about what she saw in the cafe today! What a small fucking world it was for her to see the dynamic fucking duo in the cafe together when she remembered vividly the ferocity in which the small woman nailed the guy in the jaw for a book. It was totally bananas. And then to see them together? In the cafe? Though it was probably for an apology or something, and from Jillian’s perspective it looked like they were having a good time. 

So of course she had to go and ruin whatever good mood they were having by blabbing to Cú right then and there, and then to make eye contact with the lady and make some fucking gesture to her like a fucking dudebro?  _ What the hell was I thinking?  _ As far as Jillian knew, that woman could fucking track her down and was waiting around every corner just to deck  _ her _ for her actions in the cafe.

Jillian was just feeling a bit...devious was all. And from what she could see they recovered nicely from her blunder and still had a good time. She couldn’t stay and observe for long. She had only stopped in for her lunch break before she went back to work. She was helping the bookstore change hands, moving from the old woman who had owned the place for decades to the hands of her friend, Hannah, and her girlfriend. It was why she was working there two weeks ago when she witnessed the incident with her own two eyes.

The apartment door unlocking caught Jillian’s attention and she watched as Cú practically kicked the door in, carrying bags of convenience store goodies on each arm. Jillian could see through the thin plastic that he had gotten some chips, some sodas, and some of his favorite beer. So, it must have been a rough shift after she had left.

“I’m back, babe! And I brought all sorts of goodies for us to enjoy— oh what’s for dinner?” Cú asked, placing the bags on the counter and sorting through the items. He was carrying an armful of drink cans over to the fridge when Jillian answered him.

“Tofu and kielbasa over rice with sauteed onions, and I guess whatever drinks you brought home with you,” Jillian was about to internally lament the fact that she didn’t even  _ like _ beer when Cú held up a bottle of her favorite cider and waved it in her face.

“...Thanks, babe.”

Cú just gave her a small kiss in response before he went back to putting away his goodies. 

“Sooooooooooo, did anything else happen between our two star-crossed enemies in the cafe after I left, or…,” Jillian waited patiently for a response, shifting the tofu and kielbasa in the pan a bit. Cú let out a gruff laugh and began to tell Jillian how the two pretty quickly reconciled with each other before they started talking like normal people. Cú told of his surprise at how long they stayed in the cafe since they were clearly done with their food and drink at that point and couldn’t help but tell of his annoyance at how some customers stay a bit past their welcome.

“They were having a good time, Cú. Don’t be mean about it.”

“I wasn’t being mean at all. I was the perfect gentleman server and only came back over when it looked like there was a lull in the conversation...but I could have taken so many other customers in the time that they were just making goo-goo eyes at each other!” Cú had flopped onto the couch in the living room at this point and Jillian couldn’t help but laugh as he flailed his arms and legs at the last statement. Jillian turned off the stove and plated their food. She glanced over to the coffee table in the living room and saw that Cú had already brought over their drinks, so she carried the plates and utensils over to the couch before taking a seat.

They ate while The Real Trophy Husbands of Uruk played on the television, even though they weren’t paying attention to what was happening on screen at all. 

“Oh my god when they left did they make eyes at each other like in a 90s rom-com?”

“Even worse, it was more like a scene out of Pride and Prejudice where they gazed adoringly at each other while not saying a word while the sun set behind them and the wind blew gently through their hair. I swear I could hear an orchestra playing softly in the distance”

“They’re fucking perfect for each other and I don’t even know them.”

“Tell me about it. Oh, by the way,” Cú turned to Jillian with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Don’t ask me how, but I managed to overhear that they’re coming back to Emiya’s to exchange the “I need this so badly I’m gonna punch you” book—” 

“WHEN?!” Jillian excitedly put her fork down and pushed Cú back on the arm of the couch, nearly sitting in his lap with how close she was to him. 

“Next week. Probably. Maybe. Wanna come in and be a nuisance again?”

“Do you take reservations?”

“Normally, no, but Emiya owes me big time for tonight. That Medb chick came in again tonight and kept not-so-casually spilling drinks on my pants and then trying to dry them off.”

“Gross.”

“Yeah, but anyways, yeah I can get you a reservation. Do you wanna invite Hannah? I know you’ve spilled the beans about the punch to her too and you  _ know _ how much she loves drama.”

Jillian was already pulling out her phone and sending Hannah a message about next week. She wondered briefly if her strange fascination about those two made her a creep or a bad person, but holy shit was this the most exciting thing to have happened to her since she nearly threw hands with that bubble-gum pink haired thot when she came onto Cú in a bar a few months back. She loved drama and wanted to see how this was gonna play out.

“I bet you anything the two of them are gonna start dating,” Jillian said with glee as she got a response back from Hannah, agreeing to meet her at the cafe next week.

“Hm, I dunno. I’d say they’d meet for a few nights of passion and then move on,” Cú said around a mouth full of food. Jillian sent him an unamused look while he avoided her gaze by staring blankly at the tv, not really taking in the tantrum happening between a rich, bratty blonde and an elegant looking brunette. 

“Fine, you got a ten on you?”   
  


“...I might.”

There was silence for a few moments before Jillian and Cú high-fived one another without looking, agreeing to the bet with the action. The two of them continued to eat their meal, actually paying attention to the show now and witnessing how a person with long, green hair had to physically restrain the blond twunk from swinging at the man with tanned skin. 

“This show is trash.”

“Yep.”

“We’re trash.”

“Yep.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too, Jill.”

The two of them cuddled on the couch while the show played on, not thinking anymore about books or punches or romance. Just bad television and good food.


	3. All This and Heaven Too

A month.

It had been a  _ month  _ since Melody and Chiron agreed to meet up at the cafe. And what a wild month it was. 

True to her fears, Melody’s many papers and projects quickly overtook her time and eliminated any and all traces of a normal social life. She was able to meet with friends during the small moments between classes, sure, but anything outside of that was beyond her capacity. Meetings with professors, students, counselors, phone calls to parents, and finally being able to sit down at home and work had been her life for the past thirty or so odd days.

This isn’t to say that the previous month hadn’t had some good moments as well. 

Despite never having the punch-book with her, yes that’s what she’s calling it now, it seemed that Melody was starting to see more and more of Chiron around on campus. She thought that Chiron was going out of his way to make sure that he ran into her more, but really the same could be said for Melody as well. She would hang around the building he taught in after her classes were out just so that she could say a brief hello. Chiron would often find her in the cafeteria despite having a faculty lounge he could eat in away from the student body and join her for a few moments before they had to go their separate ways. They would bump into each other at the library and reenact their fateful first encounter, and then be shushed by staff for causing a ruckus, giggling as they exited the building. 

These moments never lasted long, and there would be days where they wouldn’t see hide nor hair of the other, but that didn’t stop them from moving beyond thinking of the other as an acquaintance, but instead as a friend. 

But oh, how she wished it would move beyond even  _ that _ .

Wait, what?

Melody almost smacked into a pole as that last thought crossed her mind, looking around to see if anybody saw her near miss before carrying on with a bright blush covering her cheeks.

Despite her flustered state, Melody was nearly skipping towards the cafe, her bag slung over her shoulder and swinging with the extra weight of the punch-book inside. Finally, finally she and Chiron’s schedules matched up and they had time to meet up for an early lunch again. A brunch, really. She let out a quiet chuckle to herself thinking about the amount of trouble that this book had put her through and also the unique opportunity it gave her. This past month, devoid of much free time as it was, saw her talking with Chion more and more, and she found him to be as intelligent and engaging as he was during their initially tense meeting in the cafe not so long ago. They had talked back and forth over text about a variety of subjects ranging from philosophical discussions, the status of Melody’s all important thesis, how classical works of literature and performance translate into the modern day, if any of Chiron’s students (or his TA) were giving him any trouble, and, of course, the very simple “how was your day?” 

As the days moved on from their initial meeting, their conversations had started to be more casual than academic, like what they were doing for the evening, had they read any good books lately, and “I’m excited to see you again”. 

That last one had been sent by Melody early that morning in a half-bleary state after staying up late the previous night watching musicals and grading the last of the ‘did you even try?’ papers that her students turned in for her Music History class. It took about ten seconds after sending it before she balked and tried to send another message to backpedal, but Chiron had replied before she could even pull the messaging app back up on her phone.

**Chiron:** “I’m excited to see you again as well.”

**Chiron:** “:)”

She sat on her couch, face red and heart fluttering at his response with her breakfast granola bar nearly falling from her hands. She shook herself out of her stupor, sent a text to confirm the meeting time, and when she got his confirmation she had set about getting ready to leave. She put on some casually nice clothes, styled her curly, though a bit unruly, hair a little, and then was out the door. 

Now she found herself standing outside Emiya’s Café with the sun high in the sky, peeking in through the windows to see if maybe Chiron had gotten there before she had. She spotted a few customers, saw the blue haired server that waited on them the last time chatting up someone sitting alone at a table near the back, and saw Emiya himself behind the counter, preparing the orders and setting them on the counter for the server to pick up. What she didn’t see was Chiron. 

She let out a disappointed sigh and was about to walk in and ask for a table for two when a masculine voice spoke her name from behind. 

Melody whirled around, grabbing her bag in a way that suggested she was ready to beat someone with it, and then quickly blushed. She was face to chest with Chiron, who was standing  _ very _ close to her. She was sure that her nose had brushed against the soft fabric of his shirt and quickly took a small step back, letting out a nervous choking noise. 

Chiron looked sheepishly at her, a faint blush dusting his own cheeks as he scratched the back of his head. 

“My apologies, Melody. I was trying to see what you were looking at and didn’t realize that I was...stooping over you.”

Melody made an annoyed grumbling noise at the word ‘stooping’ because it was accurate. Their height difference was almost comical and she tried her best not to think about it. Chiron looked her up and down with an amused look in his eyes and his mouth turned up at the corners.

“Are you thinking of hitting me again?” He said with a good-hearted chuckle. 

Melody paused, thought for a bit, and then realized that she was still holding her bag like a weapon. She let go of the bag like it burned her and it fell uselessly to her side and Chiron laughed, a soft and hearty sound and Melody let out a laugh of her own. And then the two of them just stood outside the cafe, looking around at everything but each other, and failed to come up with any kind of conversation starter.

_ ‘Well, this isn’t awkward at all’  _ the two of them thought sarcastically and simultaneously, not that the other could know about that.

Melody was about to ask something lame, something to do with the weather, when Chiron moved to step past her. Her heartbeat sped up as he got close to her, nearly as close to her as he had been just a few seconds before, and she swore she could feel his body heat radiating off of him. She quickly stepped out of the way as he pulled open the door to the cafe and gestured for her to go inside.

“Ladies first,” he said with a polite smile and Melody stepped inside with Chiron following suit. 

No sooner had the door behind them closed than they found themselves face to face with the man who served them the last time they were here, almost materializing out of nowhere with the suddenness of his appearance.

“Good morning and welcome to Emiya’s! My name is Cú and I’ll be taking care of you today!” he called out, though he was within a perfectly reasonable distance to talk normally to the two of them. “A table for the two of you?”

Melody gave a small nod and Chiron said an affirmative “yes” from behind her and the server seemed to perk up. 

“I have an excellent spot by the window for two. Perfect amount of daylight and a good view of the street. Please, follow me,” Cú grabbed two menus and led them over to their table. Once they were seated, Cú left them alone to put in their drink orders and Melody and Chrion sat in silence for a bit. Melody was unsure of what to talk about, nothing new had really happened lately since the last time they texted each other the previous night and she wasn’t sure what kind of academic topics they hadn’t already covered before. She racked her brain trying to come up with  _ something _ to say, but came up woefully short. She just kept going back to the fucking  _ weather  _ of all the cliche things. 

Chiron wasn’t fairing much better. Normally, he was a natural conversationalist and he prided himself on being able to carry a conversation on casual interest alone if he didn’t have any knowledge of the subject. But now? Now his normally confident words failed to surface and he struggled to come up with anything to say. Why, though? He had spoken to Melody back and forth with ease before, both before at the cafe and during their brief encounters on campus and over texts. Even when they were here the first time they slipped into such easy topics of conversation. So why was this so hard now? He looked at her and she looked right back, the awkward silence hanging around them like cobwebs in an unattended attic.

“Alright!” 

The two of them jumped at the sudden exclamation as their server returned.

“I have a black coffee with cream on the side for the gentleman and some Earl Grey for the lovely lady, sugar and cream on the side,” he said as he quickly placed their drinks in front of them. As he was about to ask them if they were ready to order any food a stern voice piped in from the kitchen.

“Oi, Cú! You’re too loud!” Emiya reprimanded.

Cú responded to his boss very maturely by sticking out his tongue which Emiya pointedly ignored. Turning back to Chiron and Melody, small notebook and pen in hand, he looked at them expectantly. They both answered his unspoken question at the same time.

“I’m not ready-”

“I haven’t even looked at the menu yet-”

Cú let out an over dramatic sigh and waved them off playfully. “You two take your time, I don’t want to make you feel rushed. Just wave me over once you’ve decided what you want, okay?” He got two nods as an answer and that was good enough for him. He turned away from the table and made a beeline for a table in the back. The lone occupant of the table leaned forward and had a conspiratorial look in her eyes.

“Well, has anything happened yet?” Jillian hissed more than whispered. Impatient as ever, she wanted to hear any juicy details as soon as they happened, though she wouldn’t be sharing them with anybody like she originally  _ thought _ she would. After Jillian sent too many texts of ‘The dynamic duo aren’t here today, sorry’, Hannah decided to bail on their promised outing to spy on the two possible lovebirds. It was harsh, but she said that she’d rather spend a guaranteed fun time with her girlfriend, Drake, than to spy on some strangers for the lulz. Which was fair.

Oh well. She would just fill Hannah in later.

Cú shot Jillian an exasperated look. “They haven’t been here for more than five minutes, babe.  _ No, nothing has happened yet,” _ he hissed back to her in kind. Jillian just scoffed and not so subtly moved to look around Cú to peer at the table where her targets sat. Guh, they looked so awkward. Why weren’t they talking to each other? They seemed to have good chemistry the last time she saw them, so what was up with them now? At this rate, neither she nor Cú would win their bet. Jillian paused for a beat.

Why was she even invested in this anyways? These were two strangers she was spying on. Two strangers whose first encounter involved a book and a fist and  _ man _ did that lady have a mean hook. But then she saw them here at the cafe not long after the incident looking like they were just the best of pals and Jillian  _ distinctly  _ remembered the light blush on their cheeks as they talked to each other that day. 

Jillian exhaled heavily and leaned back in her seat, ignoring her targets for now and focused on Cú who was looking at her with a less than impressed expression. She merely shrugged her shoulders and offered him a lazy smile.

“I probably won’t be staying long anyway since this doesn’t seem to be as exciting as I’d hoped it would be,” she said with false calm, internally embarrassed by her own actions. “You’ll still give me updates once you get back to the apartment, right?”

Cú chuckled and gave an affirmative nod. “Well, don’t leave before I put in at least a drink order for you. I know how much you like boba and good ole Emiya just put it on the menu a few days ago.” Jillian grumbled something about not being told about this sooner and told him what flavor tea she wanted before he left her alone to stew in her thoughts. 

She rested her head on folded hands and lazily glared at the man and woman, wondering just what was up with them and what was up with her that she felt so determined to see what was going to happen. 

Jillian was deep in thought when she felt a sudden sense of dread wash over her. Her eyes snapped into focus on the woman at the table and if her soul could leave her body then it would have at that moment. The woman’s eyes were locked onto Jillian’s and there was an unspoken rage hidden within the depths of her gaze. Jillian gulped  _ hard _ and pulled out her phone in a too-little-too-late effort to not look so fucking obvious.

A few quick glances proved that, really, Jillian was just no good at being sneaky.

Melody could feel her blood boiling at the sight of the woman sitting at the table, who was so fucking  _ obviously _ watching her and Chiron. Did this lady really have nothing better in her life to do than to crash in on Melody’s life as an unwanted and awkward bystander? Sure, the first time wasn’t really her fault, the second time could be attributed to an unkind coincidence. But a third time? Third times don’t happen without it being on purpose. At least, that’s what Melody’s mind was telling her at the moment. She was pulled out of her glaring by Chiron, who asked her if she’d decided on what she wanted.

The rage in her veins subsided momentarily as she meekly answered “no” and looked at the menu, deciding quickly on a fruit and yogurt bowl. She wasn’t sure if her stomach could handle anything more solid than that with the way it was flipping inside her. There was an unpleasant combo of anger and something else eating at her appetite and Melody wasn’t ready to address what that ‘something else’ might be. Chiron looked at her, concern etched clearly on his face, but she just brushed him off with a quick “I’m fine”. 

Chiron didn’t buy it, but he also didn’t probe any deeper. Instead, he waved over Cú who rushed over with pen and paper in hand.

Melody gave her order and Chiron gave his, a classic BLT, and the awkward silence settled back in around them. 

Cú left to put in their order, but was lingering close by, hoping to hear a conversation pick up and slightly shook his head when he didn’t hear a peep from either of them. 

Jillian was glued to her phone, still sweating over being caught in the act and wondering just how many hours she had left to live.

Melody was stewing in anger and uncomfortable emotions that she refused to address, wanting desperately to come up with  _ something _ to say to end this stifling silence. 

Chiron...had to leave.

Not  _ leave  _ leave, no, he would never do that to anybody. He certainly wouldn’t do that to Melody, who he’s come to think of as a friend during the short time that they’ve known each other. It was actually rather odd that he’d become so close to someone who was a stranger no more than a month ago. No, he had to leave in the sense that he needed space to think. There was something happening here, between them, despite just being casual friends and it was clear that neither of them were willing to address whatever it was that was causing this sudden feeling of apprehension between them. He needed space to breath, to assess how he was feeling, and to determine how best to move forward. 

Melody was startled out of her brooding by the harsh scraping sound of Chiron’s chair as he suddenly stood. His face was a blank mask and it made her stomach drop, worried about what made him close off like that. Before she could even ask what was wrong Chiron curtly said that he needed to use the restroom and then he was gone. 

Melody was left alone, her mouth slightly agape at Chiron’s sudden departure and her mood soured even further. What the  _ fuck _ was happening today? The day started off well enough, she had been in a good mood and had been  _ excited _ to see Chiron again outside of the few brief ‘hellos’ they’d manage when they saw each other on campus. What had happened that made this so...so  _ bad _ ? Was it what she sent him this morning?

‘ _ I’m excited to see you again _ ’

Guh, she might as well had added a stupid heart emoji to the end of that text for all the good it did her. Melody pressed her palms into her eyes and watched the colors burst behind her lids as she tried and failed to shake off the cold feeling of dread filling her insides. She was startled once again by a loud noise, this time of a glass being placed just a  _ tad  _ bit too hard on a table nearby. Raising her head from her hands, Melody followed the source of the sound and saw Cú at the table with the eavesdropping woman, a green colored bubble tea now resting on the table. The two of them were talking to each other animatedly in hushed whispers and Melody once again made eye contact with the lady from the bookstore. Melody’s glare held firm as the lady looked away sheepishly, grabbing her tea and sucking down its contents with an almost comedic intensity.

Cú turned to look at Melody, looked back at the woman and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder before walking away, ignoring the lady’s sputtering as he did so. Melody watched this scene play out, thought about it for a bit, and then it finally clicked in her head.

_ Their server was in on the spying, too. _

**_Bastards!_ **

Melody thought about what she was about to do for all of, oh, three seconds before she stood from her own chair and stomped her way over to the lady sitting in the back. She forcefully smacked her hands down on the table and took an assertive stance at her end of the table, waiting for the other woman to look at her.

Jillian was wondering if writing a text note on her phone would count as a legally binding last will and testament as she flinched from the force of the woman’s palms hitting the table. She continued to idly suck at her straw and scroll through her Flitter feed, willing for the lady to just leave her alone. Jillian had ignored bigger problems in her life before and it  _ usually _ turned out fine, like how she managed to pass her final semester classes with lack-luster papers, and how helping Hannah and Drake run the bookstore somehow became a full-time job instead of the part-time work she was looking for. See, most things like that worked out for her in the end.

But now the lady was pulling out the other empty chair at the table and sitting down and ooooooooh Jillian was  _ definitely  _ not getting out of this one unscathed. She sucked a few boba pearls into her mouth, chewed on them for a hot second before swallowing and finally turned to face her doom. 

Jillian immediately regretted this decision. 

The look this lady was shooting Jillian made her want to melt into her shoes. It was somewhere along the lines of an upset mother and someone who expected so much  _ more _ from you with a healthy dose of pure rage mixed in for added spice. It was a  _ terrifying  _ sight and Jillian gulped, knowing full well that she probably deserved whatever justice this woman was about to dish out. Jillian’s eyes met the woman’s, and she said something incredibly stupid.

“Hey there, I’m Jillian...got some nice weather today, right?”

_ Stupid!  _ Jillian internally screamed.

What Jillian said and the wavering smile she offered threw Melody off guard for a second and she hesitated to find the right words to say. After a few seconds of consideration, Melody doubled down on her anger and nearly spat at Jillian.

“And I’m Melody and apparently I’m a fucking JOKE to you!” she hissed through clenched teeth, trying to avoid making a scene.

Jillian sputtered and struggled to come up with a response. She didn’t even have time to answer before Melody continued.

“I can accept that the last time I saw you was a wild coincidence, despite the fact that you made an ass out of yourself even then,” Melody paused to take a breath, “But now? Here and now? With you so  _ obviously _ looking at me and Chiron—”

“Oh, that’s his name?” Jillian interrupted, her mind blasting past the angry tone and focusing on this new piece of information. 

“That’s not important! I just want to know  _ why _ you think it’s fun to spy on me and then I want you to  _ stop _ .” Melody’s voice was raised and the few other customers in the cafe turned to look at the commotion.

Emiya, the owner and chef at the cafe, took notice as well. He was about to leave his kitchen to ask the two women to take this outside when a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to see red eyes staring back at him. Cú was shaking his head and started to pull Emiya back, insisting that things wouldn’t escalate much further than this. Cú knew Jillian well enough to know that she would do everything in her power to placate the other woman.

...Unless the lady said something that would set Jillian off. Then there might be a problem.

Jillian cowed in her seat, very much hating the heads turning her way and noticed that Melody also looked uncomfortable with the extra attention. She could probably use this to her advantage. Jillian hated being the center of attention and it looked like Melody wasn’t a huge fan of it either.

“...Okay, so, uh...we obviously got off on the wrong foot here—”

Melody scoffed, but waited for Jillian to continue. 

“-You know, since the first time I saw you was when you punched that dude in my store for a book,”

Melody’s posture wilted at the mention of the punch and a little of the fire left her, replaced by a smidge of shame. Jillian took notice and felt some confidence growing within her. 

“And, ha, shit the next time I see you, you’re here in this cafe eating lunch with the guy? Just hanging out and having a good time and acting like the two of you are just the best of pals…” Jillian paused, observing the flush rising on Melody’s cheeks. “...or maybe something more?” God, Jillian was not only digging her own grave but buying flowers for the funeral as well, wasn’t she?

Melody’s hands were clenched painfully tight now, realizing that Jillian had about as much dirt on her as she had on Jillian. And what was with that last thing that she said? Something more?

“We’re just friends!” Melody insisted, her hackles effectively raised and she was ready to go on the offensive. Who was this stranger to tell her what she and Chiron are to each other? Yes, they talked a lot over the phone and through text, yes they had small meetups on campus whenever they had the time, yes they said goodnight to each other almost every night, yes they were both excited to see each other here at the cafe again for more one on one time and…

Jillian’s eyebrows raised as she watched the poor woman in front of her go through what looked like a pretty intense emotional journey. She took another long sip of her tea while she waited for Melody to come out of her funk and let out a huff of amusement to herself. In for a penny, in for a pound, right? Jillian already thought that these two were cute together, and clearly her last words had hit a chord inside the lady. So, maybe all these two idiots needed was a  _ push. _

“Do the two of you get mistaken for a couple often?” Jillian asked with false innocence.

Melody started to shake her head no, but slowly started to nod. It wasn’t a  _ lot _ of comments, most of them came from Chiron’s TA, but he meant those as a joke, right? Achilles aside, though, she’d gotten comments from others, too. Classmates, students, and embarrassing enough, from other members of the faculty, though none of them ever made it sound like she was in the wrong for hanging out with Chiron so much. 

Jillian watched the lady across from her struggle once again with her feelings and felt a small surge of victory. ‘ _ Maybe I can turn this around in my favor afterall!’ _

“And what about you?” Jillian paused for unnecessary dramatic effect, “Do  _ you _ want to be a couple?”

Melody’s brain short-circuited at the question. It was the one question that she had avoided anytime that she thought about Chiron. Chiron, a man who made her laugh in the wee hours of the morning with his texts and that made her head feel like mush when she thought about him for too long. The question she avoided after the brief meetings in the hallways where all they could manage was a simple ‘hello’ and that was enough to make her heart beat uncomfortably fast for the rest of the day. Nearly a month of thinking and dreaming and hoping and wishing for things that she would never admit out loud because this just wasn’t something that  _ happened _ .

People don’t  _ fall in love  _ in a  _ month _ . They just  _ don’t _ .

….but what if they do?

Melody’s brain halted in its tracks as she tried to comprehend what she was thinking. What if...what if she  _ did _ fall in love in a month? What if the connection she felt with Chiron was more than just a comfortable friendship that budded from uncommon circumstances?

What if...she was in  _ love? _

“And would that be so bad?” Melody mumbled to herself, forgetting in the moment that she had a very intrigued guest trying to spy on her internal monologue. 

Jillian scooted forward in her chair and planted her hands on the table, a silly grin nearly splitting her face from ear to ear. She was sure that she looked like a crazed killer straight from a movie, but she was so darn happy! She was finally getting somewhere! Not that interference was in the plan. She really was just going to hang back and watch everything unfold, but here she was, helping this stranger figure out her love life because gosh darn it sometimes she loved a cheesy romance.

And the woman sitting in front of her being metaphorically swept off her feet by a handsome stranger that she punched was about as cheesy as it got.

Tapping her hands against the table, Jillian managed to get Melody’s attention.

“So, tell me about Chiron.”

* * *

Chiron couldn’t help but feel like an absolute heel for running away from Melody like that. Ducking away to the restroom was a good way for him to isolate himself, and he did need to sort through his thoughts, but what would Melody think of him for leaving her like that? Chiron gripped the sides of the restroom sink before viciously turning on the faucet and splashing his face with water. He was getting himself worked up over seemingly nothing, and as his chest heaved with heavy breaths he tried to wrangle his thoughts. 

Thank goodness all the stalls in the restroom were unoccupied. 

This shouldn’t be anything different from the last time they met here or from any of the times they spoke to each other on campus. They were friends, right? He and Melody developed a genuine rapport and bonded rather quickly over academic articles, the antics that other students would get into, their own personal interests, and they genuinely seemed to hit it off.

So why did things feel so weird now?

Why now of all times? It was just a brunch meet-up, nothing special. Friends go out to eat with each other all the time and everything goes fine.

Chiron closed his eyes and leaned against the sink, desperately sifting through his thoughts to find out where this strange, stifling feeling was coming from. He started with the facts; he met Melody impromptu at a bookstore and got a fist to the jaw for it, they met at the cafe a few days later to share apologies and talk over what happened, and as far as he could tell they clicked...the punching incident aside.

And then he started to seek her out on campus, or was it her that looked for him? Either way, they both made time in their hectic schedules to see each other and at least say hello. They would eat with each other, read with each other in the library, sit in the teacher lounges and work through student papers together, text each other at the end of the day and talk about all the things they didn’t say earlier. They...were spending a lot of time with each other over the past month and, at least for Chiron, he was very comfortable with where they were in terms of their relationship.

Or at least he thought he was.

Chiron inhaled deeply as the thought passed through his mind.  _ Was he comfortable with their current relationship? Did he want more from his relationship with Melody? _ A shaky breath left him as he considered this. He felt a genuine connection to her, both academically and personally, and the moments in the day when he got to spend time with her were his favorite and left him feeling warm and tingly. He wasn’t concerned about this feeling before, he was just glad that he had found a contemporary to talk to and connect with, but now that feeling was threatening to choke him. 

Warm and tingly? Who was he, as a university professor, to feel that way towards Melody? Melody, who was a graduate student aiming to go for the full PhD experience. Melody, who, despite her youthful appearance, possessed an incredible amount of wisdom and life experience that would rival some of his peers. Melody, who could make him laugh at the drop of a hat. Melody, who could follow effortlessly a train of thought he was having about his philosophy class. Melody, who he would always seek out in the midst of the day just to have a calm moment and be in her presence. Melody, whose smile was enough to brighten his entire day and whose laughter made his heart swell near to bursting and— 

“FUCK!”

Chiron slammed his hands against the sink and the mirror shook with the force of it. He was breathing heavily as the revelation rammed into him like a truck. He was...in love with Melody? Was love even the right word? Infatuated? Crushing on? 

“Ha,” Chiron huffed out without humor. It was as sad as it was ridiculous, a professor in his 30s crushing on a student in her 20s. 

_ ‘It’s not like she’s an undergrad student,’  _ an unwelcome voice piped in from his thoughts and Chiron didn’t fight very hard to refute it. She was an adult, after all, and when he thought about it the gap in their age wasn’t  _ so _ large.

But she was still a student attending the university where he taught, though he wasn’t an actual professor of hers. He didn’t have any obligations to her as a  _ professor _ and so far they’ve only ever interacted as equals, the differences in their position never impeding on their lunches together or their late night text sessions. 

But  _ still _ , he was still an elder to her, still held a higher position than her, he was a teacher and she was a  _ student _ .

_ ‘But not  _ **_your_ ** _ student,’  _ the voice piped in again. Chiron’s knuckles were white at this point as he clenched them against the sink and his jaw ached from gnashing his teeth together. How was he supposed to go out there and face Melody? Now that he’s acknowledged his feeling for her, be it a crush, infatuation, or love, how could he just go back out there and act like nothing was wrong? How was he going to talk to her again after this? On campus? Would things go back to the way they were or did he just mess everything up royally and beyond all repair—?!

“You doing okay here, man?” 

Chiron’s head whips around to the bathroom door, startled by the sudden noise and embarrassed by the state he’s in. It was the server, Cú, carefully closing the door behind him and looking at Chiron with a pensive gaze. Chiron just stared blankly at Cú, unable to shift gears so suddenly from near panic to calm and collected.

Cú, for his part, was really just here because he had to pee. He wasn’t expecting to stumble upon Chiron having a breakdown in a semi-public restroom. He looked downright pitiful and damn it, Cú really felt for the guy. This whole thing with Melody and Chiron might have started as a small joke between him and Jillian, but after seeing them interact today and seeing Chiron now was really eating at him.

Cú leaned back against the door, crossed his arms and decided to go in for the kill.

“Having a rough time with your date?”

He watched as Chiron prickled, hackles effectively raised, and Cú had him right where he wanted him. 

“I... what?! She’s not my... it’s not a— a DATE!” Chiron sputtered and guffawed, turning to Cú with his hands clenched in fists and his shoulders tensed and squared. He took a few steps towards the server who raised his hands up in the universal sign of surrender, but Chiron continued forward. Cú had a smug look on his face and Chiron was tempted to wipe it clean off.

Chiron got up in Cú’s face, forcing him to press back against the door, and if looks could kill Cú was certain he would have been incinerated. Still, he had a hunch that this encounter would be all bark and no bite, so he took this all in stride. Chiron got started on pleading his case, how this wasn’t a date, how he was a professor and she was a student and really, Cú was only halfway listening. He picked up on the actual important bits and buzzed out all the rest by amusing himself with the flustered look on Chiron’s face. 

Cú waited patiently for Chiron to calm down from his fervor, damn he really had to pee, and when Chiron paused for a moment Cú finally spoke up.

“...Sounds to me like you really like her,” he said with a firmness in his voice that brokered no argument. And as far as he could tell it was true. During Chiron’s babbling away at all the reasons why he wasn’t on a date with Melody he didn’t realize he was also talking about how attractive he found her, how he felt happy around her, how he felt he could leave himself unguarded during their conversations and it was pretty clear, at least to Cú, that there was something more here than just feelings of friendship.

Chiron was breathing hard after near shouting at Cú, but his statement made his breath hitch. Really? After all Chiron had said,  _ that’s _ what this blue haired fiend picked up on? 

“You are unbelievable!” Chiron took a step back, getting out of Cú’s space, and fixed him with a hard glare. The server still had an incredibly smug look on his face, like the cat who got the cream, and Chiron could feel his blood boiling. He was ready to go off again when Cú held up his hand to signal him to stop.

“Let me just say, for every point you just told me about how you two wouldn’t work out, you had about five things to say for how happy this girl makes you feel. You say that you’re a professor and she’s a student? You’re not  _ her _ professor and she’s a grad student, not a baby freshman,” Cú pushed himself off of the door and took a step forward. “You haven’t known her that long? Sounds to me like you two have been spending a lot of time with each other since the last time I saw your sorry faces in here. ‘Oh we see each other after class. Oh we eat lunch with each other when we can. Oh we message each other throughout the day and well into the night.’ Give me a break,” Cú scoffed. 

Cú took another step forward and Chiron, much to his embarrassment, flinched and almost took a step back. He was so often used to being, if not the smartest guy in the room, then at least the most sensible. But, every word that Cú was saying hit hard and true and Chiron could feel his moral resolve crumbling away. Did he really give that much away to this stranger? He was so incensed at the server’s accusation that he didn’t even realize what he was saying.

A hand on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts and his eyes focused on the red irises of the server. When did he get so close? What was it about today that had him so out of sorts? Chiron opened his mouth to speak but Cú cut him off.

“Don’t kid yourself, man. You like her”

Chiron sighed and grabbed Cú’s wrist. “Yes I do. As a friend.”

Cú gave a haughty laugh. “You’re very good at lying to yourself, but you’re not gonna pull the wool over my eyes.” Cú’s grip on Chiron’s shoulder tightented.

“You. Like. Her.” Cú’s gaze suddenly softened. “But you’re worried that it won’t work out. So much so that you’re not even willing to try.”

Chiron threw Cú’s hand off of his shoulder. “Now listen here—” Chiron started to say but his mind was racing faster than his mouth could move. He...he was right. Dammit he was right and he hated that! He hated that this stranger could so easily pick him apart when he was usually so well held together. He hated that he had all his arguments picked apart by using his own words against him. Hated that he fell so hard for a woman in such a short amount of time. Hated the difference in their positions that made his moral backbone quiver at the thought of something more with her. Hated the fact that he could no longer push these emotions under a rug now that his feelings have been laid out in front of him so blatantly.

“...I do,” Chiron whispered.

Cú made a sound of confusion, not aware of the mental journey Chiron went through in the manner of a few seconds.

“I do like Melody,” Chiron confirmed, no longer whispering but his voice still lacked strength. 

“Well, admitting it is half the battle!” Cú exclaimed and gave Chiron a friendly, if not heavy, slap on the shoulder. “Now all you gotta do is fess up to your girl!” Cú said as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Chiron looked at Cú as if he’d grown a new head. 

A small feeling of panic settled in his stomach.  _ Confess to Melody? _ Shit, he hadn’t thought about that part. He just jumped immediately to all the ways they wouldn’t work out because of morals and differences in age and positions. Chiron didn’t even  _ consider _ the confessing part and all the ways that could go wrong.

“Eh? What’s wrong? You look like you bit into a lemon?” Cú questioned. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out. His eyes darted across the words on the screen and a sly smile spread across his face. Guess Jillian wasn’t as dead as he thought, given the look of rage on Melody’s face when she caught her spying. 

In fact, it seems like she was having a grand old time with Melody who was spilling the beans about her own feelings. 

Chiron, for his part, was still panicking.

“Fess up? Tell Melody? Are you crazy?! She would never—!” Chiron started but he was quickly interrupted. 

“Yeah, she would,” Cú said rather smugly, still staring at his phone and began to type back a reply. Chiron was still sputtering and confused. He was about to ask what he meant when Cú answered his yet to be voiced question. 

“I’ve got a reliable source who tells me that the little missy out there is just as into you as you are into her, and with probably the same amount of hang ups, too,” he said with a sigh. Cú tapped the ‘send’ button and focused all of his attention on Chiron. 

“Sounds like the two of you have some things you need to work out,” he offered Chiron a soft smile, “but it’s all probably gonna work out in your favor anyway.”

With that, Cú clapped Chiron on the shoulder and walked past him towards the row of urinals. It wasn’t like he didn’t get a kick out of playing a bit of matchmaker, but he came to the bathroom to piss first and foremost. And now that he was sure Chiron got a gentle shove in the right direction, Cú was ready to do his business. 

“...Thank you, for helping me through that—!” Chiron made a move to turn around to look at Cú but quickly backpedaled when he heard the telltale sound of a belt being undone and pants being unzipped. Instead, Chiron hurried out of the bathroom, muttering “how crude” under his breath. 

Cú didn’t even look back, just mumbled a tired but relieved “go get em, tiger” as the bathroom door swung shut. 

* * *

“So, you’re gonna tell him how you feel, right?”

Melody nearly choked on her own spit when Jillian asked this. 

“Bwa?!” was the only sound Melody could make as she proceeded to hack up a lung from her spit intake. How did she come to that conclusion?! Just because Melody totally confessed all of her feelings for Chiron didn’t mean that she was ready to take the next step and  _ confess _ . There were too many other obstacles, too many variables that came with a confession! There was no way she could take that chance! 

Jillian was momentarily stunned. Melody’s dramatic reaction reminded Jillian of when she finally admitted to herself that she had feelings for Cú and what a  _ disaster _ it was to come out to him. But it all worked out in the end...even if her back still twinged from time to time from  _ that  _ incident.

Jillian was sure that this was going to be fine, she just needed to talk Melody back down to earth. 

Melody was sure that nothing was going to be fine. 

How could she confess to Chiron of all people?! It was one thing to lay all of her feelings on a stranger, but to bare her soul to the object of her affection? Absolutely not! It was out of the question! There was no way that she could do it, she would rather implode than to come clean to Chiron only for it to blow up in her face and—! 

“I’m sure whatever you’re thinking, it’s not gonna be that bad.” Jillian’s firm voice pulled Melody out from her spiraling thoughts and gave her a soft look, trying to appear as reassuring as possible. She did manage to sneak a quick message on her phone to Cú about the latest update to the situation.

Melody still wasn’t on board.

“How can you possibly know that? There’s so many ways that it could go wrong! I’m still a grad student, he’s a professor, I’m in my twenties and Chiron is in his thirties at least,” Jillian dramatically rolled her eyes, “we’ve only really known each other for about a month and plus what if he doesn't even like me?” Her voice cracked on the last line and Melody was breathing hard and struggled to push out her next words.

“What do I do if he doesn’t like me in the way that I like him?” Melody was the picture of misery when she said these words. The panic from before had left her voice and was replaced with a somber tone and Jillian was actually pretty worried about this. She didn’t know what to tell Melody. She wanted things to work out between the two of them, these total strangers, but she never accounted for what might happen if it just wasn’t meant to be.

Jillian was pulled from her own melancholic funk when her phone vibrated on the table. She glanced at the screen and saw that she got a reply from Cú. Quickly, Jillian picked up the phone and scanned the message. When she finished reading a smile spread across her face and she looked up at Melody, cheer glimmering in her eyes.

Oh yeah. It was all gonna work out. 

Jillian tentatively reached out a hand and gently put it on Melody’s shoulder, not quite sure how she would react to the contact. It got her attention, but she did look uncomfortable at the touch, so Jillian pulled back but made sure she had Melody’s eyes on her.

“I know this might sound rich coming from a stranger that you’ve known for all of ten minutes, but trust me when I say that it’s all  _ probably _ gonna work out,” Jillian waved her phone in front of her for effect. “I’ve got deets about a certain professor who  _ might _ just be in the same boat as you.”

Melody was confused for a second before she remembered that there were two people involved in this spying situation, and she remembered seeing a flash of blue hair duck towards the restroom a little bit ago. And then the weight of what Jillian said finally hit her, and Melody was dumbstruck. 

‘ _ In the same boat as me, huh?’  _ Melody thought, still unsure. Her mind raced once again, trying to find the possible lie in Jillian’s words, to think of all the pitfalls of believing in this, how it could all go wrong, but the more she thought about it the more her negative thoughts began to quiet down. 

Was it foolish of her to trust in the words of a stranger who’s been busted as a nosey eavesdropper? Absolutely. But did she also desperately want to believe in her words? 

_ Absolutely. _

There really wasn’t a point in denying it any longer, she did like Chiron, and this went beyond that of just a friend. She  _ liked _ Chiron, wanted to spend even more time with Chiron, wanted to get close to him and learn even more about him, to tell him more about her and for him to be just as interested in her as she was with him. She wanted to keep talking to him at school, over text, but also in more intimate settings. She wanted to be close to him, closer than just being a friend would allow.

What she felt right now might not be love, she still felt it was too soon to call it something so serious. What she had was a longing for  _ more, _ and to be more to him and for him to be more to her.

Melody  _ wanted,  _ she  _ longed.  _ She at least needed to get some closure to her feelings so that she could either move forward or move on from these feelings.

“...Jillian,” Melody said, softly.

“Hm?”

“Thanks.”

Jillian just smiled at this, and Melody returned the smile in kind before she stood up to return to her table. Jillian breathed out a heavy sigh of relief once Melody was far enough away, glad that everything turned out for the best...for her. She had no actual clue how things were gonna go between the two would-be lovebirds and she had no intention of sticking around long enough to find out. She just had this incredible heart to heart with Melody, and she felt that her presence, no matter the outcome, would just cheapen the whole experience.

Jillian sucked down the last of her boba and waited for Cú to show his face so that she could settle up her bill and get the hell out of the cafe.

* * *

Melody and Chiron returned to their table almost at the same time, their dual discussions with Jillian and Cú running through their minds and keeping their lips sealed for the time being. Silence once again surrounds them, but it’s noticeably less tense than before. Their postures weren’t as strained and they no longer refused to meet each other’s eyes. Instead, the silence around them was comfortable and contemplative, Melody and Chiron sizing each other up, waiting to see who would make the first move.

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence before Melody was ready to talk. She was about to open her mouth to speak when— 

“Sorry for the wait you two!”

The moment was interrupted by their server, Cú, announcing his presence as boisterous as usual and earning him another reprimand from Emiya. Cú ignored him and placed their food on the table, gave the usual “please enjoy” and then quickly walked away.

But not before giving Chiron a very unsubtle wink that made the professor inwardly groan.

Melody’s eyes follow Cú as he makes his way over to Jillian’s table. They shared a few hushed words, high-five each other, and then Jillian was on her way out the door. Jillian catches Melody’s eyes and flashes her a peace sign and a wink, and then she’s gone out the door.

Melody wonders if she’ll run into Jillian again under more favorable circumstances. Despite the initial hostility, she ended up enjoying talking to the mohawk’d shopkeeper. 

Melody and Chiron turn back to each other. There’s a beat of silence, and then they’re both laughing, the calm silence from before all but gone. They laughed over the absurdity of Jillian and Cú, and laughed at the silliness with their own emotions and their worries. Both of them had just gone through an unexpected emotional journey with two strangers and both of them had come out better because of it. Their laughter carried through the near empty cafe, bringing a smile to Cú’s face and pulling a sigh out of Emiya, who did not sign up to be a part of this. Cú elbowed him and told him to lighten up. 

Their laughter eventually died down and it was like a veil had been lifted as Melody and Chiron looked at each other with fresh eyes and fresh perspectives. Gone was the hesitancy from before, the strangling silence had been choked out. They both were looking at each other, really looking, as opposed to the downcast eyes of before.

Slowly, they began to eat, nibbling at their food as they both worked through what to say. They made small talk about the food, the taste and texture, made comments about the serving staff and the atmosphere. They talked about small things until there was nothing left to say. 

And they finally started to talk. Really talk. 

“Chiron, there’s something I need to say—”

“Melody, I need to get something off of my chest—”

Well, they  _ tried _ to talk. Again, they share a quick laugh, both of them gesturing for the other to go first when Melody finally powered through to say her piece. 

“Chiron, I...this is a little hard for me to say,” Melody stumbled through her words, nerves invading her voice. “I know this might seem a bit out of place, but I, um,” she stumbled again. Chiron was watching her with an intensely gentle gaze and it was both a comfort and seriously throwing her off. He was just too damn pretty! Melody took in a deep breath to focus her thoughts, and then continued.

“I know that we haven’t known each other for all that long. I mean, sometimes even only a month is pushing it for me to call someone a real friend, but I don’t feel that with you. I feel something...different with you? Something deeper…” Melody’s voice trailed off again, struggling to find her next words. She was watching Chiron’s face, looking for any hints as to what he was thinking, but his features betrayed nothing. He was a perfect image of unbiased interest. Though, she did notice that he was leaning forward a bit and that his hands were fidgeting. Was he...excited about what she had to say? 

Did he really feel the same way as she did? God, she hoped so.

“I don’t want to jump the gun and say the way I feel towards you is... _ love,” _ the word caught in her throat. “But, I do know that what I do feel towards you is more than just being friends. I...I really like you, Chiron. Maybe more than I should,” and there it was. What she wanted to say was more or less out in the open. She wrung her hands, trying to get some of the nervous energy out of her system, but her actions were halted when a large, warm hand covered hers.

Shocked, Melody looked at Chiron and the sight before her nearly made her cry out in relief.

Chiron was blushing and his eyes were glittering with hope. A broad smile decorated his face, and as he opened his mouth to speak Melody had to fight to focus on the words being said and not the way his lips formed them.

“Melody, you have  _ no _ idea what a relief it is to hear you say that,” his voice was breathy, like he’d been holding it in the whole time while Melody was talking and his words came out of him in a rush. “I have to admit, I’ve had similar feelings towards you,” Melody perked up. “But I’ve had to hold them back because, as a professor, and one that teaches at the same university you attend, I felt that it would have been wrong to bring my feelings to your attention.”

Melody deflated a little, subtly trying to pull her hands out of his grasp. She was hurt by his words, which is hypocritical because she had the same concerns. Still, hearing them said out loud stung.

Chiron pushed forward, hastily trying to recover from his wording blunder. He didn’t want to hurt Melody and watching her wilt made his heart clench.

“However, I think it would be unfair to both you and myself for me to try and deny that I  _ do _ feel the same way about you,” Chiron took in a breath to steady his nerves. “Melody, it’s been a very, very, very,  _ very  _ long time since I’ve felt anything beyond a general companionship with another person. But you...I want  _ more _ with you. What that ‘more’ is, I’m not sure yet,” Chiron reached with his other hand and was now holding both of Melody’s trembling hands in his own.

Or was it his hands that were trembling?

“...But I want to experience this ‘more’ with you, if you’ll have me.”

Chiron’s heart was thudding in his chest and he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. Both of them had laid it all out, more or less. There were still so many ways it could go wrong Chiron couldn’t help but thinking. But even more than the ways it could go wrong, Chiron wanted to try and see all the things that could go  _ right _ . His feelings over the past month, his conversation with Cú, hearing Melody admit her own feelings gave him hope that however they choose to move forward, it would be  _ wonderful. _

Melody’s mouth opened, then closed. She blinked her eyes rapidly, not prepared for the sudden rush of emotions to hit her all at once.  _ He did want her the same way!  _ Melody struggled for a few more moments, unable to organize her thoughts in a way that would make sense. She needed to answer him! Shit shit shit why couldn’t she word right now?

A few more moments passed and Chiron’s heart began to sink in his chest. Was Melody changing her mind? Did he say something that took things too far? He opened his mouth to apologize for stepping out of line when Melody surprised him.

Unable to find the words necessary to express how she felt, Melody chose to answer through action. Gently, so gently at first that Chiron didn’t even register the movement, Melody raised her hands that were still being held by Chiron’s to her lips.

Chiron’s heart nearly skipped a beat when he felt the soft, slightly chapped touch of her lips on the tops of his knuckles. 

Melody felt like her face was on fire and her heart was racing, but this was the only thing her frazzled brain could think to do to answer Chiron’s question. She would have him, God would she have him. She had gone through such a whirlwind of emotions ever since they entered the cafe, but this? She was sure of this.

“I’ll have you, Chiron. And you’ll have me, too.”

* * *

The food had sat forgotten on the table, ignored in favor of the now flowing conversation between the two patrons. They spoke of their wants, their fears, their hopes and wishes, and they spoke without worry. They knew that the other wouldn’t judge them for what they said now, wouldn’t hold anything against them in the future, except maybe to tease. 

Cú smiled from behind the counter, shooting off a quick message to Jillian before being not so gently elbowed by Emiya, still annoyed at Cú for pulling a stunt like this while on the clock. There wasn’t much else that he could do since Cú was his best server and long time...acquaintance. There wasn’t anybody else on staff who was willing to work the hours that Cú could, and thanks to that it meant that he could get up to a certain level of shenanigans that would get any other employee a write-up at least. Emiya’s eyes trailed over to the table with the couple and even he couldn’t deny that they looked much happier now than before. He would even admit to himself that the joy radiating from the table was starting to affect him and put him in a better mood.

Hopefully this would help with the next eight hours he had to spend with Cú at the cafe, shenanigans and all. 

Neither Melody or Chiron had even noticed that they had been talking for nearly an hour until Chiron went to take a sip of his coffee only to find that it had gone disgustingly cold. Likewise, Melody’s tea had chilled to a near undrinkable temperature.

“Well, I suppose this means that we should maybe take our leave,” Chiron said, a small laugh leaving his lips as he waved Cú over for the bill. There was a small fuss over who would be paying for the food, but Chiron handed over payment to Cú first and he laughed at the unamused expression on Melody’s face.

“I’m paying next time,” Melody asserted.   
  


“I’m already looking forward to our next outing, then. I’ll make sure it’s somewhere expensive,” Chiron teased, already falling into a more comfortable way of speaking with her.

Melody smiled, easily seeing through the tease and saw what he said for what he meant. He really was looking forward to next time. 

Cú returned with the receipt, thanked the two of them for dining at the cafe, and then Melody and Chiron left, eventually standing next to each other just outside the building. Chiron shuffled a bit, knowing that they only planned on seeing each other for brunch, but still not ready to part ways just yet. He opened his mouth to say something when he felt something he wasn’t used to.

Looking down at his hand, he saw that Melody’s hand was holding it. Looking back up at Melody he saw that she had a gentle smile on her face and her eyes were twinkling with delight.

“I know that we still have a lot to talk about, Chiron. So, let’s talk on the way to my place, okay?”

Chiron was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered.

“Ah, I can see now who’s going to be the backbone of this relationship. Guess I’d better step up my game.”

Quickly, Chiron shifted their hands and maneuvered them in a way that ended up with their arms locked together at the elbows. Melody was blushing, but that smile stayed on her face and her eyes were crinkling with barely contained laughter. 

“Please, lead the way, my lady.”

And with that, they were off towards Melody’s apartment. They did a little talking along the way, but mostly they walked in a comfortable silence. Soon enough they arrived at Melody’s building, but still Chiron was hesitant to let her go. They had just had this amazing heart to heart, and call Chiron greedy but he wanted to bask in Melody’s presence for just a little bit longer. 

“...You could come up, if you’d like,” Melody tentatively put forward the offer, hoping that Chiron would take it. She wasn’t ready to let go of him, the firmness of his grip made her feel like she could melt and she wasn’t ready for their time together today to be over. 

“If that wouldn’t be too forward of me—”

“I want you to,” Melody interrupted Chiron and gave his arm a slight tug.

“Come on, I can tell you about the horrible papers I had to grade last night and you can validate my frustrations. It’ll be fun,” Melody’s tone was light and playful and Chiron simply smiled at her and let himself be led to her door.

“Only if you’ll validate my feelings over some of the abysmal class participation talks I’ve had this past week,” Chiron said with a slight smirk. Melody opened the door and led him inside.

“It’s a deal!”

* * *

**_Extra Scene feat. Jillian and Cú_ **

Jillian was buzzing with excitement as she fiddled about her apartment. She’d been getting semi-frequent updates from Cú after she left the cafe that day and every message made her more giddy than the last. It had worked out! The two fist-crossed lovers managed to talk it out and make goo-goo eyes at each other while they were doing it! Cú had even managed to sneak a pic of the two of them holding hands after they left! Jillian had deleted the photo after she had a victory squeal over it, feeling a little slimy having a photo like that on her phone. 

After Melody and Chiron left the cafe, Cú sent her one last text about her claiming her victory later that night and ended the message with a devil emoji. Jillian was confused by the emoji. They only betted a couple of bucks on the whole thing and figured they’d wait a few days to cash in, waiting to see if it lasted or really was just a one night stand situation. Jillian hadn’t thought anything much else about the text and figured Cú was just eager to let the whole thing go by this point. 

Jillian had settled in at home, knowing that after Melody and Chiron left the cafe that the messages from Cú would stop coming. Emiya, like most bosses, didn’t like it when employees were texting on the clock. So, she busied herself with cleaning up her messy living room and kitchen. Working full-time, even at a chill place like a bookstore, still left her with little energy and little time at the end of the day for daily housekeeping, so she intended to make the most of her day off.

The rest of her day carried on with little fanfare. A little cleaning here, browsing the internet there, playing a few games on her phone, and drawing some simple sketches passed the time for her as the sun began to fall slowly from the sky. 

A few more hours passed and now she was in her kitchen making a relatively late dinner for her and Cú. He’d let her know that he was taking time to pick up some convenience store snacks and drinks and was gonna smoke a little bit before he headed over to the apartment. Jillian let Cú know that she was making breakfast for dinner and that if he still smelled like cigarettes when he arrived he wouldn’t be getting any cinnamon rolls for dessert. 

Jillian swore she could hear Cú whine through the messaging app. 

The lock to her apartment turned as she was finishing up with the food and soon enough Cú was bustling through the door, plastic bags crinkling as they hung from his arms. He looked a little out of breath, and Jillian knew that he had ran to his own apartment to change clothes before coming here, not willing to risk losing the cinnamon rolls. Cú shuffled over carefully to Jillian, trying not to jostle the bags too much, and gave her a heated kiss on the lips which surprised Jillian. She could taste cigarettes on his lips and let out a disgusted grunt as she pushed Cú away, but he just laughed it off. It was his own way of getting back at her after the dessert threat and Jillian knew it. 

“Cú, that’s gross,” Jillian deadpanned, turning her back to her partner as she grabbed two plates piled with eggs, sausage, and toast and walked into the living room. Cú barked out a laugh and started to sort through the bags of snacks and drinks, quickly grabbing a beer for him and a cider for Jillian. He took a few minutes to put everything else away before he settled heavily on the couch beside Jillian, silverware at the ready in his hands. Jillian heard something rustling and looked down to see Cú shoving a small black shopping bag out of sight with his foot.

“... And, what’s that?” Jillian asked, her voice dripping with sugar as she leaned her face in close to Cú’s as he continued to munch away at his food. 

“I’ll show you later,” Cú said around a mouth full of food and relished in the brief look of disgust that passed over Jillian’s face. “It’s a surprise for your landslide victory today at the cafe.”

Cú finally swallowed the food that was in his mouth but didn’t pause for a beat before he had another forkful in his mouth. Jillian fell back into the couch with a sigh before digging into her own plate of food. Cú was much better at hiding surprises than she was, and was even better at teasing the surprises until she was nearly begging to know what it was. Meanwhile, Jillian would let Cú know she had a surprise for him and then almost immediately spill the beans, wanting the instant gratification of sharing the surprise with him instead of making him sweat it out.

The two of them ate their dinner in relative silence with yet another episode of The Real Trophy Husbands of Uruk playing unwatched on the television, just enjoying being in the other’s company. A timer in the kitchen went off just as Jillian had finished her plate and she hopped up from the couch. The cinnamon rolls had finished baking just in time and she was ready to ice them up and serve them. As Jillian was loading the sweet treats onto a plate Cú moved the black bag back into sight beside the couch.

“Despite that gross kiss you gave me, you technically don’t  _ smell  _ like cigarettes, so I guess you can have a cinnamon roll or two,” Jillian teased as she set the plate down on the coffee table and sat on the couch, cuddling up to Cú just a bit. He gave a rough laugh and kissed Jillian again, this time on the cheek, and immediately plopped two rolls onto his once empty plate. When Jillian moved to grab some rolls of her own her eyes caught sight of the black bag again and her curiosity was once again piqued. What could it be? It was a medium sized black shopping bag with no identifying logos or anything. 

Jillian tried to lean over to peek inside but Cú intercepted her, blocking her line of sight as he got up in her face with an impish smirk playing on his lips.

“Don’t be so quick to ruin the surprise, Jill. You’re gonna love it and we’ll have some fun.” Jillian just huffed and poutily munched on her cinnamon rolls while Cú rolled his eyes. Some loud yelling from the television grabbed their attention for a few moments as they watched yet another fight happen, this time between a girl with twintails wearing way too much jewelry and a familiar blond twink.

“So, what do you think is going to happen with the professor and lady punch-a-lot?” Jillian asked Cú. He just shrugged and looked at Jillian with a tired look in his eyes.

“Honestly, I think they’re in it for the long haul,” Jillian perked up as Cú continued. “Don’t get me wrong, they still have a lot of stuff to work through, but the two of them seem headstrong enough to get through it. So, I think they’ll be okay,” Cú ignored Jillian’s mini victory dance in favor of grabbing the black back and placing it on his lap.

“Which is why I stopped by someplace to get this,” Cú said and Jillian’s dance stopped abruptly. She both loved and hated surprises in equal measure, so she quickly grabbed the back to get it over with, but didn’t look inside yet. Whatever was in the bag had some weight to it, not much but enough to notice. Jillian looked to Cú to answer her unvoiced question and let out a squeak when she saw that he was starting to crawl over to her on the couch with a look of hunger in his eyes. 

“You know, you might be as sweet as these treats here,” Cú jerked his head towards the cooling plate of rolls, “but I definitely wouldn’t call you a  _ cinnamon roll, _ if you get my meaning. So hurry up and open your gift.” Cú waited impatiently as Jillian nervously opened the bag and looked inside. When she saw what it was her whole face went red and it felt like there could be steam coming from her ears. Cú had to stop himself from doubling over in laughter as he watched his poor Jillian get all hot and bothered. The intense look she shot him when she finally pried her eyes away from the contents of the bag had him shivering. Cú stood up quickly and grabbed the bag from Jillian, ignoring her confused sputtering, and walked over to her bedroom door.

“Congratulations, you’ve won. Now—” Cú waved the bag tauntingly in front of Jillian, “ _ come and claim your prize, _ ” and then he disappeared behind the bedroom door.

Jillian sat stunned on the couch for a few seconds before she bolted into her room. Fuck the dirty dishes, fuck the t.v. show, fuck the original ten dollar bet. What Cú had gotten her was so much better and he was right. They were going to have so much  _ fun. _

Cinnamon roll Jillian was not. But a sinnamon roll? Oh,  _ absolutely _ . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all, folks!


End file.
